German National and Regional Holidays

When planning your trip to Germany, it is good to know the holidays. Generally, all shops except in the train stations are closed on German holidays. On Christmas Eve and New Years Eve both, shops close at noon. German holidays vary depending on the region, holidays that are nationwide are listed in below. There are several holidays beyond those which I have listed here such as Fathers Day, Mothers Day, Valentines Day and other celebratory days when businesses are open. A full listing of German holidays with explanations of each holiday is available here.

German National Holidays
New Year's Day (Neujahrstag) - January 1
Epiphany (Heilige Drei Könige) - January 6
Good Friday (Karfreitag)
Easter SundayOstern
Easter Monday (Ostermontag)
Labour Day (Tag der Arbeit) -May 1
Ascension Day (Christi Himmelfahrt)-39 days after Easter
Whitmonday (Pfingsten) - (50 days after Easter Sunday)
German Unity Day Tag der Deutschen Einheit - October 3
Repentance Day (Buß-und Bettag) - Wednesday before November 23
Christmas Day (Weihnachten)-December 25
St. Stephen's Day (Zweiter Weihnachten)- December 26
New Years Eve (Sylvester) - December 31

German Regional Holidays
Corpus Christi (Fronleichnam) - 60 days after Easter
Bavaria, Baden-Württemberg, Hesse, North Rhine Westphalia,Rhineland Palatine and Saarland)
Reformation Day (Reformationstag) -October 31
Brandenburg, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Saxonia, Sachsen-Anhalt, and Thuringia
All Saints Day (Allerheiligen) - November 1
Bavaria, Baden-Württemberg, North Rhine Westphalia, Rhineland Palatine and Saarland
Assumption Day (Mariä Himmelfahrt)- August 15
Bavaria and Saarland
Assumption Day (Mariä Himmelfahrt)- August 15
Catholic communities particularly in Bavaria and Saarland